Luke's Pick: "Riverdale"

Updated: 8 months ago

I like to watch Netflix while I do the dishes each night and one night this past week I was in the mood for something new, so after flicking through the ‘trending” section on my app for a few moments I settled on a show that I’d heard a little about, but wasn’t sure that I’d like: “Riverdale,” the dark, realistic reboot of the gang from Archie Comics.

I only had time to watch one episode, but I’m already hooked! I don’t usually like reboots (especially “gritty” ones), but “Riverdale” surprised me. They managed to bring the Riverdale gang into a modern context without making it feel contrived or forced. Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead and all the rest of the characters feel right at home in 2017.

The show follows many of the usual tropes of the comic books series — the Archie, Betty Veronica love triange, high school politics, etc. — but it also takes a much darker tone and adds a murder mystery element.

While the cinematography, the storytelling and the dialogueare all great, what really sets the show apart is the wonderful characters. They all have understandable motivations and make you feel for them immediately. The bashful, lovelorn, all-American girl next door Betty (Lili Reinheart) who’s only goal is to win Archie’s heart, the sassy, fippant and sardonic Veronica who is trying to turn her life away from conceit and greed and Archie himself who is torn between several paths for his future — football, his dad’s business and his really passion, music.

I was a little shocked to see an aged Luke Perry playing Archie’s father, but Perry played the part with heart and made the side character stand out.

“Riverdale” is a CW show, but it was recently added to Netflix for streaming.